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I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a suicide. A 67 year old man goes to the Grand Canyon by himself? Odd right there. Maybe he just got a cancer, Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s diagnoses and decide to go out on his own terms. But at his age I highly doubt he was taking selfies.
For the person who tried to claim the death of a 67 year old is evidence of natural selection...Really?
I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a suicide. A 67 year old man goes to the Grand Canyon by himself? Odd right there. Maybe he just got a cancer, Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s diagnoses and decide to go out on his own terms. But at his age I highly doubt he was taking selfies.
For the person who tried to claim the death of a 67 year old is evidence of natural selection...Really?
Why would it be odd for a retirement-aged person to visit one of our country's scenic wonders alone? He may not have had anyone to go with. I've known people in that age range, who went there, because they'd never seen it. One had seen it, but wanted to see it again. There's nothing suspicious about wanting to take in some scenery. You might say it's suspicious, if someone that age, who should know better, gets too close to the edge, and you might be right. But visiting a national park alone isn't cause in and of itself, to suspect someone of suicidal tendencies.
Why would it be odd for a retirement-aged person to visit one of our country's scenic wonders alone? He may not have had anyone to go with. I've known people in that age range, who went there, because they'd never seen it. One had seen it, but wanted to see it again. There's nothing suspicious about wanting to take in some scenery. You might say it's suspicious, if someone that age, who should know better, gets too close to the edge, and you might be right. But visiting a national park alone isn't cause in and of itself, to suspect someone of suicidal tendencies.
It’s not in and of itself. It’s that he went there alone and he died there. The combination of his age, being there alone and falling over a cliff does make it a possibility. In my mind a stronger one than he was trying to take the perfect selfie. Per the article, he was also in an undeveloped area not near any overlooks. Maybe he was trying to spare tourists from witnessing.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a suicide. A 67 year old man goes to the Grand Canyon by himself? Odd right there. Maybe he just got a cancer, Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s diagnoses and decide to go out on his own terms. But at his age I highly doubt he was taking selfies.
For the person who tried to claim the death of a 67 year old is evidence of natural selection...Really?
You would be surprised, I have encountered a lot of old people out hiking by themselves, men and women. A lot meaning more than I would expect in my experience.
Obviously, the solution here is for government to step in, regulate these dangerous areas "for the public's own good", perhaps put a big wall in front of the entire area to keep people safe.
Sorry OP,
but No, the Government should not step in and 'regulate' all the poss dangers in the national parks.
These are natural areas that are set aside for their unique qualities which include the inherent 'dangerous' situations that people can place themselves in.
The universe does not revolve around what this society deems as dangerous. Long before 'civilization' came to the GC, native people, wildlife accepted it as it is.
Consider reading this book:
'Mountains without Handrails' which gives insight to the longstanding desire of 'civilized' people to modify our national parks in contrast the purpose of protecting and preserving these natural treasures.
I think people who really know themselves aren't afraid to travel alone.
As far as the deaths, many of the falls are sheer stupidity. I would also guess suicides. I don't think people take into account the effects from the physical conditions of the area. I went to North Rim which was at 9000' and I was only used to living at 1000'. It was hard to breathe and lightning had set off some forest fires which added another level of difficulty. The air is dry and you have to drink a lot. The sun is more intense than lower altitudes. Distances are deceiving. The sun went down and there were people still out there hiking up the canyon. They had flashlights, but I was happy not to be on that hike. I was young enough, but I felt the effects of being there.
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